Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (C) speaks as Angola President Joao Lourenco (L), and Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (R), Chairperson of the African Union Commission, listen on during the closing press conference of the Second Italy-Africa Summit at the Addis International Convention Center (AICC) in Addis Ababa on February 13, 2026. (Photo by Marco Simoncelli / AFP)
Addis Ababa: The "extermination" of the Palestinian people must end, the chairman of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said on Saturday as he launched the organisation's 39th summit.
"In the Middle East, Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our consciences. The extermination of this people must stop," said Youssouf, who was elected to head the institution a year ago.
He also touched on the multiple conflicts raging in Africa.
"From Sudan to the Sahel, to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in Somalia and elsewhere, our people continue to pay the heavy price of instability," Youssouf said.
The summit brings together heads of state from the 55 member states of the African Union over two days.
This year's theme is water sanitation.
